The main stages of the combined processes are mixing of the components, wetting of the mixture with a binder solution, granulation, drying of the granulate and powdering. All these processes can take place in the same apparatus. Combined processes are difficult to operate, control and manage, but this technology provides a number of significant advantages, namely: the actual combination (unit of equipment), minimizing the area, minimizing the consumption of electricity, reducing the consumption of auxiliary materials, minimizing the working time and the number of operating personnel, ease of washing and other treatments. The positive aspects of using this technology bring it to a high level and make it the most widespread and demanded in the modern pharmaceutical industry. Specialized equipment (dryers, mills, containers, granulators) can be built in a technological chain.

For example, vertical granulators are often used in conjunction with a GSF rotary sieve to ensure a uniform particle size distribution of the material. The granulation process can be easily modified. There are various variants of the combined granulation and drying process: granulation under vacuum, double heat jacketing. The great advantages of this method are the gentle drying of the product in a vacuum of up to 10 mbar and the relatively small process space, which is quickly and easily cleaned; granulator with double heat jacket and additional microwave drying; granulator with drying gas supply from the side of the rotor blades. On the example of dryer-granulator we will consider the combined process of granulation and drying. The drying chamber is a vertical tube with an expanding separation part. The lower part of the chamber ends with flanges, between which a grid (gas distribution grid) is inserted to realize the fluidization process of the dried material.